concertsfandomcom-20200215-history
North Sea Jazz Festival
The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival was held before was demolished in 2006. As of 3 November 2017 the festival officially will be known as the NN North Sea Jazz Festival. The founder of the three-day festival was Paul Acket, a businessman and jazz lover who made a fortune in the 1960s with his pop magazine publishing company. When Acket sold his company in 1975, he was able to start and sponsor the North Sea Jazz Festival. Acket wanted to present American jazz and European avant-garde jazz. In 1976 the first edition of the festival took place. It was an immediate success: six stages, thirty hours of music, and 300 performances drew over 9000 visitors. Acts included Count Basie, Miles Davis, Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Sarah Vaughan. The Edison Jazz Awards and the Bird Awards are presented at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1990, two sub-festivals were introduced: North Sea Jazz Heats, a free festival performed in pubs throughout The Hague, and the more exclusive Midsummer Jazz Gala. Both take place on the evening before the festival. Musicians that have performed at the Midsummer Jazz Gala include Tony Bennett, Herbie Hancock, and Oscar Peterson. Amy Winehouse performed at the festival in 2004. The festival has grown to fifteen stages, 1,200 musicians, and about 25,000 visitors a day. The festival presents concerts in New Orleans jazz, swing, fusion, blues, gospel, funk, soul and drum and bass. The festival is acknowledged as the "biggest indoor jazz festival in the world" and has a reputation for showcasing different areas of jazz from all eras. North Sea Jazz Festival 1976 North Sea Jazz Festival 1977 North Sea Jazz Festival 1978 North Sea Jazz Festival 1979 North Sea Jazz Festival 1980 North Sea Jazz Festival 1981 North Sea Jazz Festival 1982 North Sea Jazz Festival 1983 North Sea Jazz Festival 1984 North Sea Jazz Festival 1985 North Sea Jazz Festival 1986 North Sea Jazz Festival 1987 North Sea Jazz Festival 1988 North Sea Jazz Festival 1989 North Sea Jazz Festival 1990 North Sea Jazz Festival 1991 North Sea Jazz Festival 1992 North Sea Jazz Festival 1993 North Sea Jazz Festival 1994 North Sea Jazz Festival 1995 North Sea Jazz Festival 1996 North Sea Jazz Festival 1997 North Sea Jazz Festival 1998 North Sea Jazz Festival 1999 North Sea Jazz Festival 2000 North Sea Jazz Festival 2001 North Sea Jazz Festival 2002 North Sea Jazz Festival 2003 North Sea Jazz Festival 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival 2005 North Sea Jazz Festival 2006 North Sea Jazz Festival 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival 2008 North Sea Jazz Festival 2009 North Sea Jazz Festival 2010 North Sea Jazz Festival 2011 North Sea Jazz Festival 2012 North Sea Jazz Festival 2013 North Sea Jazz Festival 2014 North Sea Jazz Festival 2015 North Sea Jazz Festival 2016 North Sea Jazz Festival 2017 North Sea Jazz Festival 2018 North Sea Jazz Festival 2019